Sennheiser PXC 250 Active Noise Canceling Headphones
by Sennheiser
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Our Price: $214.46 Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days Buy Used: from $45.00 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sennheiser PXC 250 Active Noise Canceling Headphones
Customer Review: use it with batteries and it works very well for the price
Summary: 4 Stars
I ordered the PX250 headphones after reading extensive reviews of the PX100,PX200 and a few of the PX250. Clearly the PX100 appeared to provide the best sound rendition, with the limitations of being an open type headset.But when I finally clicked the order button, I went for the option of noise cancellation,not only for some dampening of airline and airport waiting room noise, but for my other activities.
I received the set yesterday; it does not come with the requisite two AAA batteries. So I plugged in my iPod and was disappointed to find I had to crank the iPod volume up full to get full sound. Then I took a cheap pair of Sony headphones and a pair of Aiwa headphones, both had come with prior CD players. The Sony headphones gave poor sound, the Aiwa cheapies were actually not bad; they sat on the ear but fully covered it, perhaps a bit better than the
Sennheisers. Bass was stronger with the Aiwas than the Sennheisers, but the Aiwa bass was muffled (listening to Diana Krall's Christmas album with great backup base and strings).
The Sennheiser was weak in the bass, but at least I could distinctly hear the plucking of the strings.
I went back online and read more reviews. Some people who bought the PX250s were disappointed as I was, and returned them for PX 100s. It is definitely true that without batteries, the high impedance of these phones does not deliver the volume,
So I was ready to return them, but first decided to buy the AAA batteries. Bought two Duracells, popped them in the headphone "wand" that contains not only the noise cancellation switch, but apparently also a small amplifier.
I went to my favorite local, noisy Starbucks, here in Montana, started up my HP netbook, logged on to KDFC.com and started doing some email work. With the noise cancellation switched off, the burr noise of the coffee grinder and a general buzz of the shop was intrusive. Then I switched on the noise cancellation feature.
First, the music was immediately richer; I could detect the amplification.To then make comparisons, I brought the cheap Aiwa phones, and alternately plugged them in.
Without noise cancellation, the loud overhead music in Starbucks, and the general din of the shop dominated over the music.When I returned to the Sennheisers with noise cancellation on, I still heard chatter in the shop, but the music was richer.
The brain has an ability to detune out chatter to a large degree and focus on what you want to listen to.
The Sennheiser earphones do not completely erase surrounding sounds, as they sit on the ear,but I believe that the noise cancellation is a nice feature which I will use probably all the time.
The bottom line: PX250 may not be as rich sounding as PX 100 or others, but if you want noise cancellation,just accept that these phones should be used with the NC switch on at all times.
For me the tradeoff in noisy environments is worth it!!
Customer Review: An Oasis of Tranquility Amid the Noise of the City
Summary: 4 Stars
I am looking forward with dread to four months of apartment renovations starting soon and I was looking for ways to keep my sanity during all the racket and mayhem. The idea of Noise Canceling headphones seemed just the ticket to help me keep from losing my mind. I tried the Bose, the Sony, and the Sennheiser in a comparative listening bout. Overall, I liked the Bose a little better than the Sennheiser, but not enough to justify the increased price. Both blew away the Sony, which just doesn't sound that good and conducts too much movement noise up into the headphones. The Sennheiser are closed ear headphones, very lightweight and comfortable to wear unless you are exercising, where they tend to get a bit too hot. The snug fit of the earphones helps block out sound, even without the noise-canceling feature. But with the feature the amount of noise that is reduced or effectively canceled is remarkable. Most of the daily rumble of Manhattan is removed from your listening experience, though louder and sharper sounds still can be heard. The actual sound in the headphones is excellent, very clear, with a focused treble and a distortion free bass response. I tested the phones using a variety of music, orchestral, jazz, rock, and organ music. For my money, organ is the most difficult of instruments for headphones, as the rich bass frequencies almost always lead to distortion. Happily, the Sennsheimer phones were able to reproduce the massive sounds of Messiaen without mishap!
As a final test I took my headphones on a street run last night. I picked out the quietest CD that I have, Morton Feldman's Rothko Chapel, which never really gets above a whisper. Walking through Lincoln Center, which was crowded with concertgoers, I barely heard a thing. Walking down the street, there was an eerie sense of calm. I could hear car horns, and some other ambient noise, which I was glad of, since it could be dangerous otherwise, but the quiet and clarity of the Feldman was remarkable. The final test was a Subway ride. While I can't say that the Subway ride was noise free, the headphones did a wonderful job of blocking all but the loudest noises. I didn't even miss notes when the express train rumbled through my station.
The design is a bit of a negative. As has been said, the battery pack is a bit bulky, though not so much as to really bother me. And the headphones do fold up nicely, making them a good compact option for travel. But the wires tangle easily, unlike the Bose. Hopefully, in future models, Sennheiser will find a way to improve this feature.
Overall, I am extremely pleased with the performance of this product, and at the price point, it can't be beat.
Customer Review: Worthwhile, but not Bose
Summary: 3 Stars
Went to Tweeter, looking for the Bose QC2. Turns out, Bose only sells their premium items directly - QC2, Wave, etc. Tweeter had the PXC250. The sales guy did not want to open them for me to try, so I bought with 30-day return. Not content with them, I went to a Bose Kiosk in a mall and bought the QC2's, also on a 30-day return. The Kiosk was under an escalator, and the mall was busy - the headphones cut down that background substantially - a test similar to an airplane, I believe.
Over the next week, I did a few tests, mostly with a TV at moderate volume in the next room (my major interest other than travel). Both the Sennheiser and the Bose have their advantages, but both the sound quality and noise dampening are clearly better with the Bose. I took the Sennheiser back, and am keeping the Bose.
A year ago or so, I tried a $50 Aiwa pair - hiss and not much cancellation - took them back also. I suspect that anything less than the Sennheiser PXC250 is not worth considering. If small size and price are important, and TV noise is not, the Sennheiser may be a better value than the Bose. For me, the Bose is one star better than the Sennheiser, but not perfect.
Because you won't find the Bose QC2 on Amazon, I give a point-by-point comparison:
Bose QC2: $300
folds flat into semi-hard case about twice the size
around the ear - better sound, but can get warm
no external wand, wire detaches
1 AAA in headphone, claimed 35-hr
excellent sound
no sound (music) when switched off
TV reduced without music, hardly heard with music
Sennheiser PXC250: $150 (less at Amazon)
folds flat into soft case about half the size
on the ear - inferior sound, but cooler
2 AAA in external wand (wire is captive?)
sound OK, but weak/no bass
diminished sound (music) when switched off
TV not reduced much without music, still intruded a little over music
UPDATE 7-12-2009:
Some time ago, I got two sets of Etymotic Research ER6i Isolator In-Ear Earphones (Black) with Shure PA910M Replacement Black Foam Sleeves (Medium) for Shure SE210, SE310, SE420, SE530 and SE530PTH Earphones, for when my wife and I need to travel light. They are acceptable, but I still prefer the Bose when I have room to carry them.
Customer Review: The Best Noise Cancelling Headphones I've Heard
Summary: 4 Stars
I tried everything. My last attempt at a decent headphone for use in a noisy gym was the Shure E3C "in-ear" headphones. You can see my review for those in the Sure E3C section. Before trying those out I had been using the Sony MDR-NC20's for the last 6 months. They did cancel the noise out pretty well but the sound was terribly muffled (no highs) the mids seemed squashed to me almost like they were compressed and while the lows were there, they were very mushy. For a while I just figured that this was the price one pays for using noise canceling technology. Then I went on a hunt again and read some good reviews for the Sennheiser PXC250's so I went and purchased a pair. I first just put the batteries in and tried them at home. They sounded great! Rich low-end, brilliant but not harsh highs. Overall a very pleasant EQ curve. But the real test would be at the gym.
The ambient noise in this gym is the constant roar of treadmills, stair machines, stationary bikes, etc. Overall these cover a fairly broad frequency spectrum. I put the headphones on and started the music. Oooops! I forgot to turn the noise canceling on. After doing so I couldn't believe my ears. With the music on (and not even too loud) I felt isolated in the room. The sound was absolutely top-notch and turning on the noise cancellation circuitry actually improved the sound quality! While I have tried the Bose noise canceling headphones it was around 6 months ago so I don't feel qualified to do a direct comparison. However, I do not remember them blowing me away like these Sennheisers did.
I think it's also important to know what kind of music I used to judge these phones as someone into classical music might looking for a different sound than someone into rock. I have been either a professional musician or otherwise involved in the music industry for the last 40 years. My music types of choice and the genres I used to judge these phones were progressive rock, rock, and fusion jazz. My reference headphones are the Sony MDR-7506's which, to me, are some of the best sounding headphones one can purchase without completely breaking the bank. They are also some of the most used headphones in the studios I worked in and visited. These Sony phones can produce a very low yet articulate bass and smooth mids and highs that are never over bearing. While the PXC250's are not as rich sounding as the Sony MDR-7506's, to me they are just as pleasant sounding. There are no frequencies I miss when listening to these.
Customer Review: Excellent for their intended purpose
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been using these for almost a year, and if you're looking for a small, portable, foldable, lightweight, travel-friendly set of noise cancelling headphones, you can't beat them.
Since the earpieces do not completely enclose your ears, there will be some amount of ambient sounds coming through, but for spending hours and hours on an airplane, they're the best value out there. Sure, some others may sound better, and and some will enclose your ears, and still be "foldable", but for 3x the price. Let's see Bose come up with a pair that can fold down to this size!
I won't even consider going on an airplane for anything longer than an hour flight without them. For coast-to-coast or international flights (particularly the 'red-eye's) they're the FIRST thing in my bag after the toothbrush/paste.
I can carry them in my laptop bag with only a minimal amount of space, and I always carry an extra set of batteries, just in case. So far, I've only replaced the batteries twice, in about a year.
Bottom lines:
Will it cancel out all frequencies? No, but if you're on an airplane all the time, it cancels out the ones you need cancelled: the constant drone of the engines, the air conditioning, etc.
Are they comfortable? Yes, I can easily sleep with them on during overnight flights, and as they weigh practically nothing, I don't feel like I've got a brick on each ear.
How's the sound? Sounds good to me, but then I'm not an audio engineer. I will agree with some others that I hear much more in the music I listen to when I use them at home or at work. As far as the music and movies on the airplanes, there's no comparison to the ratty headphones the airlines dish out.
Will you still hear things? Of course, as I said, some ambient sounds will always come through, so if you're looking for total aural isolation, get yourself an isolation chamber. If you're looking for over-the-ear studio-type NC headphones, they'll probably be much to big to slide into a laptop briefcase, or cost at least twice as much (or both).
So... If you're looking for some very good lightweight, travelling headphones to cancel out the incessant whine of the engines, (and most of the incessant whine of the 4-year old two rows behind you), these are the ones to get.
I've recommended them to friends and co-workers alike, and at least 2 have gotten pairs for themselves.
'nuf said.